Top MPUSD superintendent candidate pulls out

The top candidate to become the next superintendent for the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District has withdrawn from the hiring process.

MPUSD board President Jon Hill said Sunday the district received a letter from Alain Guevara withdrawing his name from consideration late Saturday.

Guevara, assistant superintendent for instructional support services at Lake Elsinore Unified School District in Riverside County, was scheduled to become MPUSD's next superintendent April 22, when trustees were expected to vote on approving his contract.

But about 200 community members packed the board meeting, urging trustees not to confirm his nomination. Teachers and other community members were alarmed by a sexual harassment lawsuit in which Kathryn Jones, an assistant principal at Elsinore High School in Wildomar, accused Guevara and two other present and former administrators of the district of sexual harassment, sexual orientation harassment, retaliation and gender discrimination, among other things, based on incidents at staff retreats.

In his letter to the district, Guevara said his selection as MPUSD superintendent would be saddled with the controversy and although he does not believe the accusations are fair or accurate, they would continue to distract from the work, according to Hill.

Hill told The Herald editorial board Friday that the public backlash surprised the board, but also that it hadn't been clear the lawsuit was pending when Guevara was offered the position. Trustees were led to believe the lawsuit was a mere nuisance, Hill said.

The trustees are scheduled to meet Monday to discuss the next step in the hiring process now that Guevara is out of the picture.

"It's a gray area we won't have to deal with," Hill said.

Trustees could decide whether to take another look at the top two remaining candidates, or the seven semifinalists, or put the process on hold and remain working under an interim superintendent, among other options.

"The fifth option — that I really do not want us to take — is to sit and ponder it more," Hill said. "But we could do that. We could say, 'we're so totally confused we don't want to make a decision yet, let's take another two weeks.' That may be considered, I'd hope not, but I'm open."

For Hill, the main consideration is to think about 10,000 students who are in the district right now.